Some festivals have music, others sprinkle in some comedians; others may have art fairs. But for 39 years, few if any have had the combination of music, performance art, comedy, film and visual arts as Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival.
Bumbershoot, the continent's largest urban arts festival takes place at Seattle Center Sept. 5-7, featuring seven music stages, three comedy stages, a performing arts stage, literary arts stage and the 1 Reel Film Festival. All together, there are 20 indoor and outdoor venues hosting the festival.
There are a variety of musical heavyweights on the main stage: Katy Perry, The All-American Rejects and Sheryl Crow on Saturday; Cold War Kids, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Michael Franti& Spearhead and Jason Mraz on Sunday; and Black Eyed Peas, Franz Ferdinand and hometown band Modest Mouse wrapping things up on Monday.
Other notable performers include De La Soul, Raphael Saadiq, Todd Snider and World Party.
Two of the significant visual arts shows are The Seattle-Moscow Poster Show and the Gage Academy Drawing Jam
The Seattle-Moscow Poster Show ends a three-year exploration of graphic art as a bridge between cultures, with previous shows focused on Tehran, Iran and Havana, Cuba. The show is a selection of more than 70 posters, half from each city, sharing cultural themes such as music, film, theatre, and contemporary art.
The Gage Academy Drawing Jam was a huge hit in 2008 with more than 10,000 festivalgoers attending. The 2009 edition will allow those curious about art to attend art school in the midst of Bumbershoot, complete with art supplies, figure models and professional artist demonstrations.
Youngershoot, the festival's children's lineup, has a host of family-friendly activities each day, as well as schedules on the festival's Web site that show which events on the various stages are good for children.
The three-day passes will get you into every venue, except for the main stage evening shows which require an additional free pass.
For more information, go to the
Bumbershoot Festival Web site.
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